Currently, if candidates have been certified to appear on a ballot, the board of canvassers may only count write-in votes for candidates who have filed registration statements. This bill requires that a write-in candidate must file a registration statement no later than noon on the Friday before the election.

Under current law, if a municipal clerk receives valid provisional or absentee ballots by 4 p.m. on the Friday after an election, the board of canvassers must reconvene no later than 9 a.m. on the Monday after the election to count the valid provisional and absentee ballots and shall adjust the election returns. The bill provides that the board of canvassers need not reconvene if the municipal clerk certifies that he or she has received no provisional or absentee ballots from the time that the board of canvassers completed the initial canvass and 4 p.m. on the Friday after the election.

Currently, when nomination papers are not used to nominate a candidate for a town or village elective office, the governing body must hold a caucus sometime between the first Tuesday and the last Tuesday in January. The bill provides that the governing body may hold a caucus between January 2 and January 15.

Under current law, electors in a city and village may sign and submit a petition to the common council or village board to pass an ordinance or resolution or to submit the ordinance or resolution to the electors in the next spring or general election that is at least six weeks from the date on which the council or board must act on the petition. Under the bill, the ordinance or resolution must be submitted to the electors at the next election that is at least 70 days from the date on which the council or board must act.

The bill removes language related to an elector affixing a sticker to a ballot.

Under current law, if a school board election is held in conjunction with a state, county, municipal, or judicial election, the school board election must take place at the same polling place, and the municipal election hours apply. This bill provides that a school board referendum held in conjunction with a state, county, municipal, or judicial election is subject to the same procedures.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

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7.50 (1) (d) Whenever an electronic voting system is used at a polling place in 3a partisan primary, and the same ballot is utilized to cast votes for candidates of more 4than one recognized political party or candidates of a party and independent 5candidates, if an elector designates a preference for a party or for independent 6candidates, only votes cast within that preference category may be counted. If an 7elector does not designate a preference and makes a mark or affixes a sticker opposite 8candidates of more than one recognized political party or opposite a candidate in the 9independent candidates' column and a candidate of a recognized political party, no 10votes cast by the elector for any candidate for partisan office are valid. Votes for other 11candidates and votes on ballot questions, if any, shall be counted if otherwise valid.

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7.50 (2) (b) A ballot cast without any marks or stickers may not be counted. 14A ballot without a mark at the top of a party column may be counted only for persons 15for whom marks are applicable.

SB121,3,917.50 (2) (em) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, write-in votes 2shall only be counted if no candidates have been certified to appear on the ballot. If 3candidates have been certified to appear on the ballot, write-in votes may only be 4counted for candidates who file registration statements under s. 11.05 (2g) no later 5than noon on the Friday immediately preceding the election. If a candidate certified 6to appear on the ballot dies or withdraws before the election, all write-in votes shall 7be counted. When write-in votes are counted, every vote shall be counted for the 8candidate for whom it was intended, if the elector's intent can be ascertained from 9the ballot itself.

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7.50 (2) (j) If an elector writes in or pastes a sticker in the positionan individual13for an office, it is a vote for that office, even if the elector writes in or the sticker 14indicates the name of a different office.

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7.53 (1) (a) Where the municipality constitutes one ward or combines all wards 17to utilize a single polling place under s. 5.15 (6) (b), the canvass of the votes cast at 18the polling place shall be conducted publicly under s. 7.51 and the inspectors, other 19than any inspector appointed under s. 7.30 (1) (b), shall act as the municipal board 20of canvassers. The inspectors shall then complete the return statement for all votes 21cast at the polling place. If there are no provisional ballots that are eligible to be 22counted under s. 6.97 and the municipal clerk has not mailed or transmitted 23absentee ballots to any electors of the municipality that have not been returned by 24election night, and no absentee ballots are being canvassed under s. 7.52, the 25inspectors may complete and sign the canvass statement and determination on 1election night. In municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, 2after the canvass of the absentee ballots is completed under s. 7.52, the board of 3absentee ballot canvassers shall reconcile the poll list of the electors who vote by 4absentee ballot with the corresponding poll list of the electors who vote in person to 5ensure that no elector is allowed to cast more than one ballot. If an elector who votes 6in person has submitted an absentee ballot, the absentee ballot is void. Except as 7authorized in par. (b), if one or more electors of the municipality have cast provisional 8ballots that are eligible to be counted under s. 6.97 or if the municipal clerk receives 9one or more absentee ballots by 4 p.m. on the Friday after the election that are eligible 10to be counted under s. 7.515 (6) (b), the inspectors, acting as the board of canvassers, 11shall reconvene no later than 9 a.m. on the Monday after the election to count the 12valid provisional and absentee ballots and shall adjust the returns accordingly. The 13inspectors, acting as the board of canvassers, need not reconvene if the municipal 14clerk certifies that he or she has received no provisional or absentee ballots from the 15time that the board of canvassers completed the initial canvass and 4 p.m. on the 16Friday after the election. Upon completion of the canvass under this paragraph and 17any canvass that is conducted under s. 7.52 and ascertainment of the results by the 18inspectors or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, 19by the inspectors and the board of absentee ballot canvassers, the municipal clerk 20shall publicly read to the inspectors or the board of absentee ballot canvassers the 21names of the persons voted for and the number of votes for each person for each 22municipal office, the names of the persons declared by the inspectors or board of 23absentee ballot canvassers to have won nomination or election to each municipal 24office, and the number of votes cast for and against each municipal referendum 25question.

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8.05 (1) (a) When nomination papers are not used, there shall be a caucus to 3nominate candidates. The governing body shall between December 1 and January 41 decide the date of the caucus. The date of the caucus may be established between 5the first Tuesday in January 2 and
the last Tuesday in January 15. When possible, 6preference should be given to having the caucus on the last Tuesday in January 15.

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9.20 (4) The common council or village board shall, without alteration, either 9pass the ordinance or resolution within 30 days following the date of the clerk's final 10certificate, or submit it to the electors at the next spring or general election, if the 11election is more than 6 weeks70 days after the date of the council's or board's action 12on the petition or the expiration of the 30-day period, whichever first occurs. If there 13are 6 weeks70 days or less before the election, the ordinance or resolution shall be 14voted on at the next election thereafter. The council or board by a three-fourths vote 15of the members-elect may order a special election for the purpose of voting on the 16ordinance or resolution at any time prior to the next election, but not more than one 17special election for direct legislation may be ordered in any 6-month period.

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9. 120.06 (9) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

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120.06 (9) (a) The primary and spring elections for school board members shall 20be conducted by the election officials for state and municipal elections. In a school 21board election or referendum held in conjunction with a state, county, municipal, or 22judicial election, the polling places for the state, county, municipal
, or judicial 23election shall be the polling places for the school board election
or referendum, and 24the municipal election hours shall apply. If no state, county, municipal, or judicial 25election is held on the day of the school board election or referendum, the school board 1may select the polling places to be used. The election costs shall be charged as 2provided in ss. 5.68 and 7.03.